Weekly Report - 25 July 2019 (WR-19-29)

HONDURAS: Criminal code stokes concerns

The international community is flagging up concerns about a new criminal code which has been approved in Honduras and is due to take effect in November. In particular, organisations such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Honduras and international press watchdog Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) are highlighting that the changes could threaten the right to protest, defence of human rights, and press freedom. The changes come as President Juan Orlando Hernández has faced criticism over the response by his Partido Nacional (PN) government to protests by the Plataforma Por la Defensa de la Salud y Educación, an umbrella protest group comprising some 60,000 teachers and 10,000 doctors, which began in April over concerns about possible privatisation of the sectors.